Autumn Statement 2013: personal finances

The 2013 Autumn Statement has now been delivered by the Chancellor George Osborne. We've summarised the key announcements that will impact upon personal finances.

State pension weekly increaseFrom April 2014, the basic state pension will increase by £2.95 per week.

State pension age to track life expectanciesThe Chancellor said people should expect to spend up to a third of their life in retirement. As a result, the Government will introduce future changes to the state pension age (SPA) in line with up-to-date demographic data on life expectancy. The SPA will increase to 68 in the mid-2030s and to 69 in the late 2040s.

Capital gains tax on foreign property investorsAs was widely anticipated, from April 2015 the Government is introducing capital gains tax on non-UK residents who make gains on property in the UK.

Green levy rollbackAgain, no surprise here as the Chancellor announced this in an interview with the BBC last weekend. The green levies on energy bills will be rolled back, taking £50 off the average household's energy bill.

Train fares to rise with inflation onlyTrain fares were due to increase by inflation (RPI) plus one per cent in January. The additional one per cent increase has been scrapped and fares will rise in line with inflation only, meaning they will remain flat in real terms.